This invention relates to devices for storing cords such as electrical extension cords or appliance cords. Particularly, this invention relates to a device for maintaining such cords in a compact, untangled manner and for providing both cord halves and ends available and ready for instant and individual or simultaneous extension and use, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,787 to Burke the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The convenient storage and use of electrical extension cords, electrical cords, and other such lines and cords is a continuing problem. With extension cords in particular it is desirable, if not required, to access both ends of the cord during use. Previous holders for such cords solve this problem, generally, by one of two methods: first, the fixing of one end of the cord to the exterior of a cord holder device while the remainder of the cord is wound on the device; or second, the fixing of the middle of the cord on a holder device and winding, simultaneously, both ends of the cord onto the holder.
In the first method, the utility of the cord is limited as one end of the cord is fixed to the holder and can not be conveniently moved. Where the male end of the cord is attached to the holder, the holder becomes an additional impediment to connecting the male end of the cord to a partially blocked or distant outlet. Alternatively, where the female end of the cord is attached to the holder, the holder becomes an albatross to which the cord of the electric appliance is anchored.
In the second method, the winding and free uncontrolled unwinding of the cord from the device results in tangling of the cord with itself on the device. The result is a cord which becomes knotted with itself on the device. This requires repeated untangling of the cord during subsequent unwinding. In addition, such devices tend to be bulky and inconvenient to carry on the job and to transport. Examples of various types of cord storage devices may be found in issued patents.
Examples of devices which simply wind a cord about an elongate axis are Sims, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,236; Gruenewald, U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,961; Sandberg et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,529; Brown, U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,675; Hu, U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,125; and Lilley, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,514. These patents teach devices for winding a cord around an unenclosed device having an elongate axis. However, none of these patents teach or suggest the separation of a cord into cord-portions for storage in separate storage compartments to make available both cord ends for use and to allow both independent and simultaneous winding and unwinding of the cord-portions. In all of these patents one cord end is fixed to the housing, and therefore, they teach against making both cord ends available to the user.
Examples of patented devices which teach the winding of a cord onto a central hub and which is, generally, not enclosed are Jaworowski et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,603,429; Schinske, U.S. Pat. No. 3,355,123; Wilson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,388,876; Hindenburg, U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,599; and Van Skiver, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 314,910. These patents, except VanSkiver, teach the winding of a cord from one end to the other end about a drum or central hub thereby presenting only one end of the cord for use. None of these patents teach separation of cord-portions into different storage compartments to present both cord ends for individual or simultaneous use.
The VanSkiver reference varies from the above teaching in that it appears to present a hook attached to the single storage area about the central hub. This hook may be used to secure one end of a cord or may allow for the attachment of a mid-section of a cord near the hub. This would allow the formed cord halves to be wound onto the device to present both ends of the cord for use. However, VanSkiver does not divide the cord into separated storage compartments to permit separated storage and individual winding and unwinding of either cord end for use. It is the unseparated storage of VanSkiver which causes the problem of entanglement between the cord-portions as they are wound on and off the device. This type of storage requires the user to frequently stop unwinding and manually separate the tangled cord. The present invention solves this problem and presents both cord ends for both independent and simultaneous unwinding by the user.
Other cord devices have a central hub for winding a cord thereon with the cord storage area having walls which, to different degrees, enclose the storage area. Examples of patents showing such devices are Sweeney, U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,886; Berger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,949; Carpentier, U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,713; Finlayson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,959,608; McKinnon et al., U.S. Pat. No. Des. 248,010; Eaton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,636; and Mansfield, U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,622. None of these references teach or suggest separation of a cord into cord-portions for separated storage to provide both cord ends for use and to allow both independent and simultaneous winding and unwinding of the cord-portions. In all of these references, except Eaton, one cord end is either fixed to the housing or is wound against the hub, and therefore, they teach against making both cord ends available to the user. In Eaton, two wire ends protrude from the device as a result of a specific method for loading wire onto the reel and the specific manner of making wire harnesses taught by Eaton.
The patent to Mansfield teaches a device for winding a cord thereon for later opening of the device to allow removal of the cord as a wound unit. Though the cord may be used while on the Mansfield device, one cord end is fixed at (23) to the inside central opening (17) of the Mansfield device. Mansfield teaches against the present invention in that it fixes one cord end to the device thereby preventing unwinding of that end from the device. Mansfield further teaches against the present invention as the Mansfield device is intended to provide and teaches the use of a single compartment so that the wound cord may be removed from the device as a bundle upon taking the device apart. The Mansfield device is open to entry of dirt and moisture and is intended to be disassembled for removal of the cord as a whole.
Finally, designers of cord reel and storage devices have added moving parts which are intricate and must be precision manufactured and contain various bearing surfaces to permit smooth operation. Examples of such devices can be found in the patents to Replogle, U.S. Pat. No. 1,692,517; Replogle, U.S. Pat. No. 1,983,565; Von Voorn, U.S. Pat. No. 2,952,420; Kasa, U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,654; Gaul, U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,331; Aragon, U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,798 and Chaconas et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,902.
The devices of these patents are cord storage devices having either two housing portions which must rotate against each other, or an internal rotating divider, or both. The storage compartment of these devices is split into two cord storage areas with the cord passing into both areas for storage. None of these patents teach or suggest a device which eliminates the use of moving parts and bearing surfaces and winding handles while achieving separation of a cord into two cord-portions to present both cord ends for use and to allow both independent and simultaneous winding and unwinding of the cord-portions.
The present invention eliminates these moving parts while accomplishing the above-stated benefits. All of the devices in the last-above group require intricate and precision molded part construction and complicated assembly by the manufacturer or user thus resulting in an expensive product. All of these devices require bearing surfaces due to the rotation of device parts. This presents the opportunity for substantial friction between moving parts and drag on the cord.
All the devices of this group require equal amounts of cord to be simultaneously wound or unwound from the device. None of these devices teach or suggest how a user might have access to either cord-portion independently of the other thereby allowing differential winding and unwinding of the two cord-portions. In fact, these references teach against the independent operation of each cord half by making winding and unwinding of the two cord-portions a result of the movement of the same parts of the device. Thus independent utilization of a single cord-portion cannot occur in these devices.
Further, none of the devices of this group are capable of loading a cord or changing cords on the device without complete disassembly of the device. Also, none of the devices of this group allow for complete concealment of the cord and cord ends within the device to exclude dirt and moisture from the cord storage area.
A particular example is U.S. Pat. No. 2,952,420 to Von Hoorn in which a cord is separated within a reel by a divider. Von Hoorn, however, presents several drawbacks which are overcome in the present invention. Specifically, the Von Hoorn device incorporates a housing of two pieces which must rotate against each other to unwind and rewind the cord and which requires the cord to travel in and out of slots in the housing, and it relies on a finger-hold means for the rewinding operation. Thus, the Von Horn device requires precision casting or molding during manufacture making the device expensive to produce. Importantly, the Von Hoorn device must be disassembled to load a cord into the device as the Von Hoorn device does not have flexible outer walls allowing user access to the storage areas of the device. The Von Hoorn device presents substantial frictional resistance during operation by the rotating bearing surfaces and the cord rubbing against the access slots. Importantly, since the cord in the Von Hoorn device is mounted on a rotating reel, a user must pull on both ends of the cord at once, and equal amounts of the cord must be extracted from the holder to avoid binding of the cord within the device. The Von Hoorn device does not allow independent winding and unwinding of the two ends of the cord.
Therefore, a long need has existed for a cord reel and storage device which permits user access to both ends of the cord while permitting removal of either or both ends of the cord from the reel either simultaneously or individually and which can allow one end of the cord to be fixed in place while the cord reel is operated to unwind the cord from storage on the device and which permits the cord and cord ends to be fully captured and concealed within the storage device to protect the cord from dirt and moisture and which allows a user to load a new cord or change-out the old cord without the need to dismantle the device and which prevents the free, uncontrolled unwinding of the cord from the reel and which can accomplish all these benefits while eliminating the need for moving parts and bearing surfaces and precision molded and intricate parts.